CLOUD 9 COOKERY

You'll find this recipe in:The Stay Out of the Kitchen CookbookBy: Lynn DallinNew York City, 1968

The Original Recipe:

FILLED DILLS

Perky and palatable...

Bore centers from dill pickles with an apple corer. Stuff cavities with a blend of equal parts of Roquefort and cream cheeses. Chill overnight. Cut into ½-inch slices. Two large pickles make 10-15 slices.

Note: A bit of finely minced celery or water chestnuts may be added for texture. These will keep for several days.

DILLS ANTONIOStuff pickles with a mixture of chive cream cheese and finely minced salami to taste.

DILLS RAMONStuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and anchovy paste to taste.

PAT'S DILLSStuff pickles with a mixture of cream cheese and crisp bacon bits to taste.

What happened when I made it?

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was to find dill pickles that were large enough to be hollowed out by my apple corer. I stopped making Filled Dills when I did simply because all the pickles that remained were too small.

This recipe suggested trying adding either chopped water chestnuts or chopped celery to the cheese for added texture. I thought water chestnuts would provide a nice crunch, but would have a mellow flavour that wouldn't interfere with the flavour of the other ingredients, so that's what I went with.

The variations I tried out were Deviled Dills (cream cheese and chili powder) and Rosy Dills (cream cheese, pimentos and green olives). I had so many dill pickle cores that I also put some chopped dill pickles in the cream cheese. What don't we call this variation Extra Dills? Then, at the end I had a little bit left of all three variations, so I made some All Dressed Dills* where I mixed all three flavourings together and this was my favourite Filled Dill flavouring.

You will end up with a lot of dill pickle cores when you make this recipe! I made a batch of potato salad with the chopped dill pickle cores, but I guess you could also just eat them.

I took the Filled Dills to a potluck and there was some confusion over what they were. They do look an awful lot like sushi, which wasn't much of a concern in 1968! I'd made a little sign next time. I heard positive reviews from the people who tried them, though.

* In Canada, we have a potato chip flavour called All Dressed, which is all the flavourings thrown in together. One chip in the bag might taste more strongly of Salt & Vinegar, and the next chip might taste more like BBQ flavouring. You never know what you're going to get!